Not much is happening here this week — at least not visibly.
Garden planning is coming along. The seed trays are doing their thing downstairs. The days are stretching out enough to start seeing more shifts toward spring, which means my mind is stirring with anticipation of all of this season’s projects.
This weekend we’ll be cutting down a tree.
I’m a little sad about it.
It sits under a power line and is getting tall enough to become a problem. I’d rather take it down now than wait for a storm to do it for us — or for birds to nest in it and make the timing more complicated. Still, it’s never easy to remove something living from the yard.
The upside? It makes more room for the garden expansion!
Bryce and I walked the yard last night, talking through measurements and placement like we always do — pacing it off, standing in spots, making sure we like the layout before we start building. This weekend we’ll start on the new bed.
We aren’t late by any means. But if you garden in Missouri, you know how this goes. We get a whisper of spring, a few perfect weeks for cool weather crops… and then suddenly it’s full-blown summer.
I want more peas. More greens. Radishes. A longer window before the heat settles in.
So even though we’re technically on time, I already feel a little behind.
In the meantime, I finally made the granola bars I meant to share last week! They’re simple and filling enough to hold you over while you’re outside doing all the garden prep or inside getting started on spring cleaning.
Here’s the recipe I settled on, feel free to tweak to your own liking. I usually throw these together with whatever I have on hand, so every batch looks a little different.
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Granola Bars
These bars are chewy, lightly sweet, and packed with nourishing fats and fiber — they’re made with pantry staples and no fillers. Perfect for breakfast, lunchboxes, or an afternoon coffee break!
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Ingredients
• 1 cup rolled oats
• ¾ cup nuts of choice (walnuts, almonds, or pecans), chopped
• 5 Medjool dates, chopped
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup chia seeds
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ¼–½ cup chocolate chips (optional but recommended)
• Pinch of flaky salt (for topping)
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Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Soak chia seeds in just enough water to form a thick gel (about 5–10 minutes).
3. Chop the nuts and dates into small pieces.
4. In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, chopped dates, pumpkin seeds, soaked chia, honey, peanut butter, and chocolate chips.
5. Mix thoroughly until everything is evenly coated and sticky.
6. Press mixture firmly into the prepared baking sheet. (Really press it down — this helps them hold together.)
7. Bake for 15–20 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges.
8. Sprinkle with flaky salt immediately after removing from oven.
9. Allow to cool completely before slicing into bars or squares.
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Notes
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3–4 days or refrigerate for longer freshness.
• Add shredded coconut or dried cranberries for variation.
• If they crumble, chill before cutting.
• For firmer bars, increase peanut butter slightly (up to ⅔ cup).
Spring always feels this way for me — a mix of anticipation and urgency. Plans doodled in notebooks, lumber stacked in the garage, seeds pushing up under grow lights. Even when nothing looks dramatically different yet, there’s movement under the surface.
For now, we’ll keep moving forward one project at a time. And I’ll keep a pan of these on the counter to make sure we don’t forget to eat while we’re at it!